Money bail is one of the main feeders of America's mass incarceration system – and yet something most Americans know very little about. Brave New Films has created a series of short films to change that.

The Bail Trap: American Ransom is a multimedia series being released in parts through the end of Summer 2017.

More coming soon.

The money bail system is broken: private companies achieve exorbitant profits by scavenging off of communities (primarily of color) living in poverty. Low-income Americans are sitting in jails for days, months, and even years for the most minor of infractions simply because they can’t afford to pay high bond amounts. The reality is that the majority of people in jails – over 70% - are there for one simple reason: their income status. This is both morally and legally wrong.

And now, from July 21, 2017 until August 21, 2017, Brave New Films will be campaigning to #EndMoneyBail this summer in the state of California. Premiere events around the state are scheduled in key legislative districts, with audiences ranging from Bay Area activists and advocates to Los Angeles poets and politicians. Social media launches will coincide each week, with new videos from Brave New Films and other partners in the California Bail Coalition. People who can’t attend premiere events and screenings can host their own in-home events with all of our films before they’re released publicly and everybody should call their Assembly members demanding they #EndMoneyBail this summer.